Villagers say Anna may break vow of silence very soon

Ralegansiddhi villagers say that Anna Hazare's ecstatic temperament during his departure to Delhi yesterday was an indication that he would be breaking his maun vrat soon. Hazare has been on a vow of silence since October 16 and today he will finish 20 days of his vrat.

"Anna has been interacting with everyone in sign language and writing messages on a black paper. Using this sign language Anna has hinted that his vrat will be over soon," said Sanjay Pathare, a schoolteacher of the village, and a close aide to Anna.

He said that Anna would be speaking in the Jan Lokpal Bill standing committee meeting in Delhi after which his team would finalise his nationwide tour in a core committee meeting.

Jaisingh Mapari, sarpanch of Ralegansiddhi, said, "Due to his health problems Anna has kept his silence for long but now he appears to be in a better condition. We are sure he will give a strong speech in Delhi."

Ganesh Bhosale, a photographer from Ralegansiddhi, said: "Anna was laughing cheerfully while interacting with Deputy CM, Ajit Pawar and Ramdas Athawale of RPI Athawale Group, even though he kept his silence. He was very enthusiastic while interacting with them in sign language."